Have you ever finished a book and thought, “Wow, that was a really good story. And it could have been great if only the author had shown me a little leg.”
That very thing happened to me this weekend when I finished reading Plastic Jesus by Poppy Z. Brite.

I’ve been a fan of PZB for years and PJ is a great story. I’m not dissing the story. Really. But when you give me a good story with two sexy gay boys who are in love and clearly are doing the deed off-screen …

Well, damn it, I wanna see!

The story is set in the 60′s. Seth and Payton are rock musicians who meet as teens, form a band and experience a meteoric rise to success. From their first encounter there’s something compelling between them, though neither has acknowledged his sexuality at that point. They become musical partners and eventually life partners. The reader, or at least this reader, gets the impression that these two are soul-mates, brought together by music, who find in each other their true match. *sigh*

So why wouldn’t I want to see these two men in their most intimate moments?

Now I understand that not every story needs sex. And that not every writer is comfortable writing sex. I can accept that. But when you make me care about the characters, when I can see clearly that they love each other and that their connection runs deep, it’s only natural, me being me, that I want some skin. *g*

I can’t really say more about the plot without including spoilers. But suffice it to say, PJ is a great story with well-drawn and compelling characters and an interesting plot that kept me turning pages. My major complaint, missing sex scenes aside, was that at 16k the story isn’t nearly long enough.

As for the missing sex scenes, I guess that’s left up to my imagination. Good thing my imagination is up to the challenge.

Written by Kimberly Gardner

As early as the seventh grade, Kimberly remembers slashing her favorite rockstars and reading romance. So it’s not surprising that her two passions, romance and putting pretty boys with other pretty boys, should come together in her writing. Moliere said, “Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, then for a few close friends, then for money.” Kimberly is delighted to finally be doing it for money.Visit The Author's Website

Comments on "Where’s the Sex?": 8 Comments

Holy Crap, Kim, this is timely. We just had this conversation on a live journal about looking at the intimate goings on in the bedrooms of the mens and how much women readers enjoy that. It was complicated. I’m not sure I followed the entire thing. However, it makes sense to me that if you are developing a relationship between two characters, that glipse into their physical loving gives the reader a better understanding of those characters.

What Lisabea said *g*
Plus, I don’t believe Poppy is shy about sexuality in general. FSM knows the short story collections she’s put together (ex: the Love In Vein series) are Teh Sexiness. So why no mansex in this one?

Amen! I’ve been saying this about Janet Evanovich forever! She’s a fantastic author but I WANT to see the sex dang it! The “then he was in me.” sex scene had me screaming obsenities for a full ten minutes. The woman writes the most amazing sexual tension, but then it ends up being like sex without the orgasm. AURGH! And like you said, I’m not dissing JE, She one of my faves and a damned good author, but dang it, show me the sex! Ant least one scene, that’s not asking too much is it?

Lisabea, That’s exactly how I feel about it. Since sex is such an important part of any relationship, no matter what phase it’s in, why not include it so the reader can see the heroes in *all* their most private moments? I mean, if I’m allowed into their thoughts I should be allowed into their bedroom too, right?

J., That’s bugged me about Evanovich for years. But PZB doesn’t even give me the “then he was in me” type of scene. Hers is more like, He gave him a deep, soul-searing kiss … … … Then as they lay together later.